"With
more than 14 million Americans out of work and millions more underemployed,
now is not the time to impose job-destroying delays in the coal permitting
process. Roughly one-third of the world's coal lies beneath American
soil. We need to harness this great natural resource so we can reduce
our dependence on foreign sources of energy and create jobs here at
home. The Administration's efforts to hamstring the coal industry at
this critical point defies all logic." - Candidate for U.S.
Congress Nathan Tabor (R-NC-13th Dist.)

While this political season is considered the debt and deficit cycle,
Tea Party candidate for U.S. Congress in North Carolina’s 13th
District, Nathan Tabor, believes the American people and the Tea Party
leaders will recognize the real battle will be over energy, he said
following a the congressional hearing on energy last Thursday.

The
House Oversight panel heard testimony that energy production and job
creation in Appalachian states are being choked by a "permitorium"
at the hands of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other
agencies.

This concerted campaign to restrict production approvals impacts a region
that delivers one-third of all U.S. coal and hurts businesses, workers,
suppliers and communities.

The hearing titled "EPA's Appalachian Energy Permitorium: Job Killer
or Job Creator?" was held by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) in the
Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government
Spending.

John
M. Stilley, president of Pennsylvania-based Amerikohl Mining, Inc.,
told the committee that the coal industry was a major job creator and
economic
contributor to the state's economy contributing some $7 billion
in total economic benefit and employing 41,500 workers.

"Frankly,
EPA's heightened scrutiny and overzealous regulation of coal mining
in the past two years threaten the future economic viability of our
industry," he told the subcommittee.

Roger
D. Horton a miner and labor leader told the committee he was "deeply
concerned and troubled by the actions of [Obama's] EPA
with respect to mining permits in West Virginia and Appalachia,"
as well as what he called EPA's "open attack" on coal. He
added, "These regulatory initiatives, coupled with the agency's
obstruction of mining permits, threatens to cripple the viability of
Appalachia and West Virginia as a source of domestic energy...."

Horton
also noted that EPA's actions were taken without regard to community
and job impacts that depend on mining and related firms.

"The
EPA's Appalachian Energy Permitorium is crippling economies throughout
Appalachia. It's time to take advantage of the resources found right
here in America while weaving the balance between environmental protection
and economic growth. Doing so will launch our economy in the right direction
and create thousands of good-paying jobs," stated Congresswoman
Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV)

U.S.
sources of energy today include old standbys -- such as wood in the
form of biomass and coal, which is used to produce over half of our
electricity -- as well as other forms of energy that create a diverse
energy portfolio.

Electricity
generation is now the leading form of energy consumption, which is understood
by most Americans who search for additional electrical outlets around
their energy-comforted homes to plug in the latest electronic gadgets
or labor saving devices that make life more enjoyable or lighten their
loads.

Transportation
-- and the freedoms it affords Americans -- is the next most popular
consumer of energy. Much of this is consumed transporting the products
of the industrial economy to their intended markets, and industrial
output is responsible for the 3rd largest amount of energy consumption.

Finally,
about 10 percent of our energy is consumed by Americans’ homes
and business buildings, enabling families to gather at home comfortably
and work in spaces that allow them…. through the use of energy….
to be more productive.

The
US leads the world in economic output, productivity and energy consumption.
As a fully integrated, complex economic system, energy matters. You
can check for yourself the complexity of the system by using interactive
energy model showing the energy the world’s
greatest economy uses and how.

"With
more than 14 million Americans out of work and millions more underemployed,
now is not the time to impose job-destroying delays in the coal permitting
process. Roughly one-third of the world's coal lies beneath American
soil. We need to harness this great natural resource so we can reduce
our dependence on foreign sources of energy and create jobs here at
home. The Administration's efforts to hamstring the coal industry at
this critical point defy all logic," said GOP congressional candidate
Nathan Tabor (North Carolina).

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Committee
Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said, "The stories told by these witnesses
are not unique to Appalachia. Domestic energy supplies represent a massive
job creation opportunity for our country as well as a reliable source
of the cheap energy that is needed to help businesses and the economy
grow. It's time that this permitorium be exposed for what it is: a direct
assault on working Americans and job creators."

The House Oversight
panel heard testimony that energy production and job creation in Appalachian
states are being choked by a "permitorium" at the hands of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies.